Germany

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  10/3/2020
  

  Germany’s Far Right Reunified, Too, Making It Much Stronger

  German reunification allowed the return of far-right political movements, in large part because communist education in East Germany did not emphasize the role of nazism in the nation's history.

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• 10/4/2020
  

  Combatting History “Indoctrination” in 1945 and 2020

  by Brian M. Puaca

  As the new 1776 Commission begins to consider how to wield history as a weapon against indoctrination, America’s educational work in Germany can serve as a guidepost for a commitment to preparing vigilant young men and women to build and defend democracy.

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• 9/13/2020
  

  How an American TV Mini-Series Helped the Germans Acknowledge the Holocaust

  by Robert Brent Toplin

  An American television minseries overcame initial skepticism by German authorities to rouse public conscience about the Holocaust and the complicity of ordinary Germans with persecution and genocide. Americans hesitant toward "political" popular culture should consider its contributions to truth and reconciliation.

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• 8/23/2020
  

  In Removing Confederate Symbols, US Military Follows German Military’s Example

  by Fred Zilian

  With unification, a fundamental break with the values of the East German Communist Party was necessary. Former East German soldiers would now belong to an army of a democracy, rooted in the concept of the “citizen in uniform."

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• 8/16/2020
  

  Trump's Removal of Troops from Germany Follows a Trend

  by Michael Creswell

  While Trump's decision to halve the contingent of US troops in Germany has drawn bipartisan condemnation, critics should recognize that whether the decision is wise or foolish for today's context, it is in line with decades of efforts to shift the burdens of collective security onto NATO allies. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  8/11/2020
  

  Museum’s Future Clouded by Chance Discovery: Swastika Hiding in Plain Sight

  The discovery of a Nazi symbol in the mosaic floor of a German museum has prompted bitter debate about its creator’s past and the institution’s role.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  8/8/2020
  

  America’s Military Should Confront Its Past, Not Bury It

  by Elliot Ackerman

  The German military’s infiltration by far-right extremists should be a warning for how we confront our own troubled history.

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• SOURCE: CNN
  8/4/2020
  

  German Ambassador Pick Disparaged Immigrants and Refugees, Called for Martial Law at US-Mexico Border

  Douglas Macgregor described the German cultural concept of "Vergangenheitsbewältigung," which seeks to "cope with the past" and confront the atrocities the country committed in World War II, as a "sick mentality" and he downplayed the country's Nazi history.

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• SOURCE: The New York Times
  6/23/2020
  

  In Germany, Confronting Shameful Legacy Is Essential Part of Police Training

  In the postwar era, Germany fundamentally redesigned law enforcement to prevent past atrocities from ever repeating. Its approach may hold lessons for police reform everywhere.

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• SOURCE: The New York Times
  6/9/2020
  

  Its Defenses Undone by a Virus, France Seeks Lessons From a Lost War

  Marc Bloch's book "Strange Defeat," written in 1940 about France’s defeat in World War II, has taken on a curious resonance as the country gazes across the border at Germany and asks why it has weathered the pandemic better.

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• SOURCE: The New York Times
  5/31/2020
  

  Nazi or Hero? Historian Looks at the Stories a German Consultant Told of His Father

  A study from historian Michael Wolffsohn finds some truth and some falsehoods in a prominent businessman’s portrayal of his father as a Nazi resister.

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• SOURCE: Upworthy
  4/28/2020
  

  75 Years Ago, the U.S. Blew Up a Giant Swastika in Nazi Germany and it's Still so Satisfying to Watch

  Local authorities in Nurnberg recently voted to conserve (not rebuild or renovate) the site of some of Hitler's most notorious speeches.

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• SOURCE: World Economic Forum
  4/26/2020
  

  Germany Enlists Humanities Scholars to End Coronavirus Lockdown

  Germany has done more than other nations to enlist the advice of philosophers, historians of science, theologians and jurists as it navigates the delicate ethical balancing act of reopening society while safeguarding the health of the public.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  3/17/2020
  

  She Tracked Nazi-Looted Art. She Quit When No One Returned It.

  A researcher stopped working for a German museum after she says she lost faith in its commitment to return works with tainted provenances.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  2/19/20
  

  When Jim Crow Reigned Amid the Rubble of Nazi Germany

  by Alexis Clark

  Thousands of African-American troops were sent to a defeated Germany to promote democracy, even as they were confined to the social order of Jim Crow.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  2/13/20
  

  How Dresden Looked After a World War II Firestorm 75 Years Ago

  Mourning all of the war’s victims has been central to Germany’s remembrance efforts since reunification in 1990.

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• 2/16/20
  

  75 Years After the Dresden Bombings

  by Sinclair McKay

  History in Dresen is not an abstract academic pursuit; instead, it is palpable and passionate. It matters enormously. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the horror that made Dresden – deep in eastern Germany - a by-word for annihilation.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  2/6/20
  

  How two women pulled off a medieval manuscript heist in post-war Germany

  by Jennifer Bain

  After the Dresden bombings, the Soviet Army seized and inspected the surviving vault. The first bank official to enter the vault afterwards found it pillaged, with only one manuscript remaining. The bank could never confirm if the vault was emptied in an official capacity or if it was plundered.

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• 2/2/20
  

  What Did Hitler Think About Anglo-American Capitalism?

  by James Thornton Harris

  A review of Brendan Simms' controversial new book, Hitler: A Global Biography.  

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• SOURCE: Time
  1/27/20
  

  Germany Is Often Praised for Facing Up to Its Nazi Past. But Even There, the Memory of the Holocaust Is Still Up for Debate

  by Jacob S. Eder

  While central questions about how to confront that legacy have been settled in the country’s history textbooks, they are still subject to controversy in villages and towns.